Snowburu

Happy Subie.

Main Bathroom

Spent the last couple days doing demo on our existing bathroom. It was awesome to take out our old, nasty vanity, and the cast iron tub. Tiling starts in a couple days. I can't wait! We are replacing the tub with a walk in shower.

Starting demo

Bye bye tub

Almost there!

Bye bye sink. Enjoy your new life in the landfill.

Done! At least it's spacious!

The stamp on the bottom of the cast iron tub

Made in November 1925. Thank you for 90 years of service. See ya!

Guest Bath

We're making progress on the 2nd bath addition. For such a tiny bathroom, it's been a big headache. A lot of planning goes into such a tiny space. I agonized for weeks over the placement of the bathroom, and then where all the fixtures will go. But it's going to be worth it!

In order to maintain the attic space as a bedroom, there was really only space for a half bath. However, we really wanted to have a second shower and a dedicated guest space, so the idea of a wet bath was born. It's essentially a shower stall with a toilet and a sink in it. Good thing felines don't like water, because there's not enough room to swing a cat in there. Anyone who has been to my (condo)minium knows that I do have a fondness for small spaces.

The electrician was here today to do the rough wiring, so this weekend will be spent furiously waterproofing and tiling. Fingers crossed we can get it done by next week!

Outside looking in. It's hard to get a good photo of such a small space!

Ben hard at work. I wasn't allowed to do much for a few weeks after my surgery, so I was in charge of photography and handing Ben tools. It was horrible!

After the plumbing work, the most costly part of this project has been purchasing all the waterproofing supplies, so I really tried to keep the cost of tiles down. Luckily I was able to take advantage of the Pratt & Larson Outlet Store. Pratt & Larson is a local tile manufacturer. All their tile is handmade at the factory in SE Portland. We ordered the tile for our main bathroom from them. They make everything to order, so we'll have a locally made, custom pattern (more on this later). Doesn't get more Portland than that! Anyway, they have an outlet with factory seconds, and I was able to pick up 20 square feet of floor tile for a steal! The walls will be tiled in a basic subway tile.

We've borrowed most of the tilling tools from the North East Portland Tool Library (NEPTL for the win), and we're doing the tiling ourselves, so we've been able to keep the cost manageable.

Bonus pug photo.
Not long after I made the bed this morning, I went to check on the dogs, Brian had buried himself under the covers. 

Wall, would you look at that!

I realized that I haven't posted a photo since we got the kitchen wall down. It's been gone for several weeks now, and it's hard to remember what it was like before. The kitchen feels a lot more airy and open now that the wall and the four massive trees in the back yard are gone. I have to say, the before photo actually looks nicer, but I promise in person it's a huge improvement.

Here's what we started with

Going,

Going,

Gone! And after the addition of the header.

We'll be installing a kitchen peninsula where the wall was with a cooktop. We've been living with a camp kitchen setup for quite a few weeks now, and the fun has definitely worn off. Even if our kitchen turned out to be a disaster, I wouldn't care. It will be so nice to have a dishwasher, or even just a kitchen sink for that matter. And a full size refrigerator! Although, after close to a year using a bar fridge, I have gotten used to only having a small amount of food in the fridge. I have to plan the grocery shopping carefully. No plastic lettuce containers here! It does cut down on food waste, as I can only buy enough food for a few days at a time. I think our fridge will be virtually empty for a few months. I did pretty well in contributing four dishes to the Thanksgiving dinner! 

Artichoke and spinach dip stuffed bread. So good.

Homemade croutons and quinoa salad.

In the next few weeks we're getting cabinets and countertops installed, tiling done, new bathroom fixtures installed, and kitchen floors installed. Phew! The only bad part about having a kitchen again will be that there's no excuse for going out to eat. Maybe that we don't want to dirty the new kitchen?